Shreveport Reports

We're waiting!

Tonight, Gary (Travelin Easy) Diamond, Deane (Hammer) Peters and their wives, my wife Susan and Bill (Semilivemusic) P. all came to Ernest's. Gary and Bill each took a turn on the Audya and both did a great job.
We'll all get together tomorrow starting at 3:00. Joe Lee is coming from Arkansas to video everything. Vince Ramos and a friend of his who plays accordion with a Ketron module are coming from Houston, several guys are coming from the Dallas area, and several from this area.
Joe and Gary are both going by to see Hank in the morning. He had a rough day today. We're hoping he'll be feeling better tomorrow.
He seems to perk up when he has company.
I'd better get some rest!
DonM

Can't be there in body but I am in spirit ... thinking of you guys ...
Here is my 'country' contribution to the festivities ... http://www.4shared.com/get/207014392/b03c6cc3/Beyond_the_Blue_Neon.html

t.

[This message has been edited by tony mads usa (edited 01-26-2010).]

Great song, Tex, I mean Tony. I'll share it with the guys and girls at the Jam.
Thanks,
DonM

Beautiful song, Tony.

Don, I too will be with you all in spirit.
My thoughts in this moments go especially to Hank, his family and you, his long longtime friend.

Thank you, guys ...

Andrea, It is always good to hear from you ...
We were recently talking about you and our beautiful evening tour of Roma ...
Hope all us well ... God Bless ...
t.

Nice one, Tony. You've got just the right feel for this type of tune. As my grandson would say, "do another one".

chas

Well whaddya know an Italian Cowboy!!!

Good job Tony!! Now don't forget I'll expect you to wear your cowboy hat next time we meet up.

God, I wish I could be there! I have somethings at work that need my attention but I hope to make it out to Sherveport sometime this spring to met you in person Don.

Sunday at the Jam...Wow! Some really great talent. Don's Audya sounds great. He let some of us hackers try it out. I told Gary D. that I am tempted to use my keyboard for a fish reef after hearing such great performances. Thanks to Don and Susan for the food and refreshments!

Jay R

was OS4 there?
was AJ there?

AJ couldn't make it. He tried to send me 4.0, but it was too large to email. That means it should be out really soon though.
More later,
DonM

What's wrong with OS3?

Doesn't seem like anyone had a crashfest... If you are holding back from an Audya purchase because of Tony's problems, you might take a look closer at Don's far more positive (but less noisy) experience and ask yourself if OS4 is going to make that much of a difference. If he is not crashing it constantly, why wait?

Unfortunately, Carol and I are headed back to the People's Republic of Maryland. It has been a long trip, and after nearly three weeks on the road it will be nice to spend a night in my own bed.

The jam went well, everyone learned a lot from each other, Don and Susan are wonderful hosts and if I had half the talent of anyone there I would be in hog heaven.

The highlight of the evening was provided by Mario, an accordian player that recently began playing keyboard. His fingers are magical,flying over the keys with incredible accuracy. He can do things with a keyboard that most people only dream of.

Tonight, I'm in a Holiday Inn about 45 miles west of Atlanta. With luck I'll make it home by late tomorrow. Next week it's back to work, hopefully providing folks with some newly acquired skills that I learned in Shreveport.

Cheers,

Gary

It was good to see everyone. Yep, no doubt, everyone there would agree that Mario was the hit. Wow, this man can REALLY play.

I was carrying a keyboard out and I tripped on the door threshold strip and sailed off a 1 foot high step, right into a pickup truck. With my head. Man, I was dumb enough already. No doubt, a concussion. I thought I was pretty much "okay" (except sore) up until Monday afternoon and then it set in. No, you are not okay!

I have been in bed ever since. Tonight, I am better. But every time I get up, I don't last long, have to go back to bed. Hopefully, my brain will mend just fine. Not to mention my left shin and my right hip. Haha, that was one helluva wreck. Worst fall I have ever had, by far. And I used to ride buckin' broncos on the ranch. Lucky, I didn't break my neck. I barely missed the truck's muffler, if I had hit that instead of the quarter panel, that would have been really ugly.

So, glad to be here, ladies and gents. I keep trying to play this new Audya that I bought but I get tired. A common symptom post-concussion. Hopefully, tomorrow, I'll be ready to be back among the living.

Remember, friends, life is short. Last year, a friend of mind had a freak accident on a bicycle and broke his neck. Gone.

Carpe diem!

[This message has been edited by SemiLiveMusic (edited 01-26-2010).]

Bill...
I just got off the phone with Gary who was travelin' (easy, I presume) about 76 miles outside of DC. He told me about your fall. Glad to hear you are getting better. How's Don's E-80?

I took a spill myself today while unloading my gear. I tripped on a parking stop. Me, the L1 sub woofer and a gear bag landed in the bushes. The equipment is okay but I wrenched my shoulder. I will survive.

Eddie

I'm at work, so can't take long, but that was the worst fall yI've ever seen. He made it worse by protecting my keyboard, which was in a nice padded case also.
I've been checking on him every few hours.
Later,
DonM

Well,

I made it home in one piece, the trip, however, was a bit hair-raising. Normally I try to bypass Washington, DC and stay away from I-495, the DC Beltway. I figured "What the hell--it will be 8:30 or 9:00 p.m. before I hit the beltway so rush hour traffic should be nil at best--WRONG! It was a freakin' nigntmare. Crazy people everywhere, weaving across five lanes of bumper to bumper traffic, and while the speed limit is 55, believe me anyone doing less than 65 would get slammed in the *ss by an 18-wheeler or a nut case in an SUV. The 23 miles I had to travel on that stretch of I-95 was a white-knuckle ride and I think I left my finger-prints indented into the steering wheel. I told Carol that I'll never take that road again and I meant it.

Tonight I get to sleep in my Select Comfort bed--right after I down a large glass of Kickapoo Joy Juice.

Cheers,

Gary

Glad you made it safely, Gary. It was a pleasure to meet you. Try to come down to our sleepy fishing village when it isn't so cold (and a LOT less sleepy!), next time...

Sorry I couldn't see you and Carol this time. Jen and I enjoyed our visit last time which was in 2004 I think.

Rest well.

Scott

Scott,

Sorry I couldn't stay longer and meet up with you and Jen again, but the schedule was a bit hectic at best. Maybe next time.

Diki,

With any kind of luck I'll find that Morgan 33 Out Island sailboat I've been searching for and the next time I head south it will definitely be warmer. Thanks again for the hospitality.

Gary

[QUOTE]Originally posted by SemiLiveMusic:
[B]I was carrying a keyboard out and I tripped on the door threshold strip and sailed off a 1 foot high step, right into a pickup truck. With my head.

Bill,
Sorry to hear about your mishap. Take good care so you can get back to the new keyboard.
Jay R

Bill ... sorry to hear about your fall ...
I was going to say it, but Brian beat me to it - it doesn't sound like you had yourself checked by a Dr., but I STRONGLY urge you to do so ASAP ... you can't fool with these things ...
t.

I did go see Bill today, and he was feeling better this morning, but after he got up and moved around some, he didn't feel so well after all.
I also went to see Hank and again he wanted to tell you how much he appreciates all your support.
Back to the Jam and Audya:
Gary, Bill, Hammer, Dickie, Jay and Mario all took a turn playing it and I think they all were pleased with the way it sounded, played and was laid out.
I can only imagine what 4.0 will do to make it better, and I'm looking forward to it, but as it is, it's a wonderful arranger.
I have received photos from several of the guys and have a few recording. I will post them when I have time to come up for air.
DonM

Don, don't be in too big a hurry to get things done. Don't forget you own health scare in the not so distant past. Everyone admires your devotion to your friends, but you can't help them if you don't take care of yourself first. Heart damage doesn't cure itself overnight.

Sorry to hear about Bill's accident. Seems as though professional sports, particularly football, is starting to view concussions in a whole new light. That's a good thing, as it will make more people aware of the dangers involved with even minor (if there is such a thing) concussions.

chas

Thanks Chas, I have begun on my "new" old diet and am starting to get the pounds off, and will begin physical rehab next week.
The timing of the Jam wasn't the best for me this time, but "the show must go on"!
Anyway, I am so lucky to be able to relax while I'm at WORK! Sit in my comfortable chair, play and sing, even check the internet, and still get PAID for it. Imagine.
DonM

I went to the local clinic today and they suspect concussion and whiplash, which is no surprise. I have scheduled a CT scan tomorrow. Now, back to regularly scheduled thread...

I had my Podium 1002's set up with my Yamaha s900. People said it sounded good but I couldn't tell, didn't sound anything special to me. But then again, I was playing and they were out front to where they could hear the speakers good.

OTOH, I thought the Bose compacts there sounded great. It will be interesting to see if Fran's mixer idea pans out for other people. (The one with the room control acoustics, which might fill in some EQ gaps. Assuming there are some.)

Sound is such an incredible part of music. The more I get into it, the more I see how complex it is. I watched a video recently of a guy setting EQ. Now, this was nothing more than an acoustic guitar. That's it. No vocal, nothing else, just acoustic guitar. He spent 20 minutes doing this and that to the multi-band EQ. And that's just EQ. And that is just THAT room. Next venue, start over.

Now, then again, if the aforementioned mixer's room control thingy works... hmmm...

Does it work for sound dummies like me? Now, that, I would buy! Press a button and it analyzes the room and makes you sound good? My kind of mixer.

I remember one of the first times I used Logitech Z-2200. Just me singing, playing acoustic guitar. I had two guys in the audience who toured professionally with big name acts and they could not believe how good it sounded. They came up to me and commented, I didn't ask them. And I barely knew how to turn on a mixer! Still don't, haha.

Point being, sometimes we luck up, I suppose. I wish I could carry a sound expert around with me. I get frustrated when it sounds like crap and I don't know how to fix it. Heck, which knob do I start with? I'm a songwriter, not a sound man, for sure.

Well, the Podiums sounded very good and I heard a few people comment on them. Then you moved from the 900/Podium setup to the Bose/Audya setup and Wow, it blew everybody away. But, that is FAR from apples to apples.
We still need to a/b with the same kb.
I'm glad you went to the Dr.
Regarding the mixer, I got one today, so I'll try it tonight. I'll try to do the room e.q. thing, but it may be too crowded when I start. If so, I'll do it after everyone leaves.
It looks like a really neat mixer with lots of goodies. We'll see how it sounds.
I'm not missing anything with the setup the way it is, and everyone says it sounds great. If it gets even better, that will be wonderful. I took the owner's manual to my reading room, you know, the one with the porcelain office chair, and read the whole thing.
DonM

Isn't that where those manuals are supposed to be read ?!?!? ... kind of appropriate, I think, considering how a lot of manuals are written ...
t.

No pictures?

Who wants to see pictures of Don in his reading room? Not I.

Tom

Don,
Thanks again to you and Susan for the hospitality. Martha and I really enjoyed meeting and seeing everyone. As others have said, Mario was absolutely awesome. Your Audya setup with the two Bose compacts is as good as it gets IMHO. Thanks for letting me try it out. BTW Bill, when you switched over to Don's Audya layout with the Merle Haggard tune, you sounded great. You made it shine. Hammer revealed a vocal talent that surprised all. He has been holding out on us. I've heard some of Gary's recordings before. They do not do justice to what the man sounds like live. A real pro. Always a pleasure to hear Vince sing and play. Gracias! Joe Lee was recording and did some nice guitar duet work with Dennie. What a great time. Thanks to all who participated. As Don said, not quite the number of folks that attended in the past but the overall quality was excellent.
Talk about a tough act to follow...Wait til you see and hear Mario on the DVD! I hope that my premature dementia has not caused me to overlook mentioning others. Thanks again to all for the inspiration.
Jay R

Gary Diamond won two Best awards.

Best Lookin'
... Mr. Snappy Dresser, you

Best Setup
... Mr. Fixit (or should I say Mr. Designit)

You did good, singing and playing, Jay. Keep at it. We have witnessed the progress!

Joe Lee (of "Joe Lee's Got An Aneurysm" fame) gets kudos, as always, for his effort to record things. I gotta record and send him his song. I don't know if that got on tape or not.

I would say that my song about the aneurysm created some kind of voodoo or something, causing me to trip and fall and hurt my head. But, I've written dozens of songs about a broken heart and I'm not dead yet. Although, I do have a broken heart. Maybe I better quit writing songs about body parts.

Okay, wise guys, no smart alec retorts allowed.

Hey Bill and Don:

Another year... another Jam missed, darn it! Sounds like you guys had a great time except when Bill invented Pickup Bed Diving. I hear it's gonna be a new event at the summer olympics... lol!

Don, next year... may I suggest you issue Bill a football helmet before he is allowed on the premises. Seriously, Bill... don't fool around with a concussion situation... and Don, please stick to that new regimen. We'd be in real trouble without you two Louisiana Super-stars.

Dave Rice

Would that be Mario as in Mario Pedone/Houston?

Lucky

Yes it would! He is great. Hope you get a chance to hear him.
DonM

Mario Pedone
http://www.fbc-accordion-club.org/Mario.htm

I'm listening now ... BEAUTIFUL ... more 'food' for the iPOD ...

t.

Not my preference in material at all, but HE'S GREAT!

Love "Watch What Happens". Always one of my favorites.

Russ

My musical taste is nothing if not eclectic ...
t.

Mario played Concierto de Aranjuez on Vince's SD1. He absolutely amazed us.
What a pleasure it was to hear him.
"It ain't the stove, it's the cook."

Jay R

From his demos I know that his fingers fly over the accordion keys, but it is interesting that they fly over an arranger's keys as well ... one doesn't necessarily translate to the other ... he IS quite a player ...
t.

They fly across the keyboard keys just as fast as the do the accordion. He is quite amazing.